The present invention relates generally to handles for lifting and supporting containers and pertains, more specifically, to a handle or bail for a paint can to suspend the can securely from a ladder rung without an intervening S-hook.
The state of the art in hanging a paint can from a ladder consists of engaging the ladder rung with a single accessory hook from which the paint can is hung. Moving the can entails reaching around behind the ladder to hook or unhook the can. This procedure risks dropping the can or the hook, or losing one's balance and falling off the ladder. Another difficulty arises in reaching between the ladder rungs to insert a brush into the can hung behind the ladder. Additionally, striking excess paint from the brush against the rim of the can causes it to gyrate awkwardly about its single point of suspension.
Handles for suspending a paint can directly from a ladder rung without an accessory hook are unknown in the prior art. Handles for suspending a clothespin container from a clothesline are known and have assumed a number of configurations in the past. Some examples of container handles of this type in the prior art are found in the following United States patents:
Ricketts, U.S. Pat. No. 1,567,677; Mabon, U.S. Pat. No. 1,427,219; McRoberts, U.S. Pat. No. 1,461,802; and Costigan, U.S. Pat. No. 1,989,473; all illustrate a handle for a clothespin bag having a horizontal hand grip portion, two inserted U-shaped hooks to engage a clothesline, and side support members attached to the bag.
These inventions are not designed to engage a ladder rung which is much larger than a clothesline and is flat on top. They all feature semicircular inverted hooks to engage a round clothesline, and which would be unstable on a flat ladder rung, allowing the container to swing about. Ricketts describes two "inverted U-shaped loops," which "have a width sufficient for the support to engage the ordinary clothesline," which is about one quarter inch in diameter. None of these prior art devices would fit on an extension ladder rung, which is at least one and one half inches across, or on a step ladder rung, which is four inches across. Also, the side support members must be spaced apart a given distance to engage the side support trunnions of a standard paint can, which are spaced apart the given distance. In none of the above-mentioned references is this critical given distance suggested. Furthermore, as the container is suspended from a ladder rung, is should rest upon or against the next lower rung. In none of the prior art inventions is the combination of handle and container configured to provide additional support and stability from the adjacent lower rung touching the bottom or side of the container. Additionally, the prior art devices show no structure for retaining the hooks on the clothesline against accidental disengagement by bumping.